Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Muscle Contraction

Muscle Contraction

Design Example: Frog Muscle Response

Design Example: Frog Muscle Response

A student is tasked to work on an intriguing experiment involving an RL (Resistor-Inductor) circuit to study the muscle response of a frog's leg to electrical stimulation. The RL circuit plays a crucial role in this experiment, providing the means to control and measure the electrical impulses that trigger muscle contraction.
When the switch connecting the RL circuit is closed, a brief muscle contraction is observed. This is because, at a steady state, the inductor acts like a short...

Muscle Stimulation Frequency

Muscle Stimulation Frequency

The contraction strength of muscles is regulated by motor neurons, which modulate the frequency of action potentials dispatched to the motor units based on the body's requirements. This process of varying the muscle stimulation frequency allows muscles to contract with a force that is precisely tailored to the needs of the moment, whether lifting a feather or a heavy box.
Wave summation
At low firing rates, motor neurons induce individual twitch contractions in muscle fibers. These twitches...

Motor Unit Stimulation

Motor Unit Stimulation

When the neuron of a motor unit fires an action potential, it triggers a series of events, leading to a twitch contraction in the muscle fibers. The process of excitation-contraction coupling is crucial in relaying the action potential to the muscle fibers.
The latent period of contraction marks the onset of excitation-contraction coupling, when the action potential propagates across the sarcolemma, preparing the muscle fibers for contraction. As the fibers enter the contraction phase, the...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Magnetoelectric microrobots for spinal cord injury regeneration.

Nature materials·2026

Same author

Bioinspired ultrasound-driven ultrafast soft microgripper.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026

Same author

A zebrafish luminescent biosensor for kidney tubulopathy, metal toxicity and drug screening.

Disease models & mechanisms·2026

Same author

The cone visual cycle and its disorders: insights from zebrafish.

Frontiers in molecular neuroscience·2025

Same author

An EAAT2b/SLC1A2b-mediated chloride leak current enables rapid cone photoreceptor signalling.

Open biology·2025

Same author

Characterization of postsynaptic glutamate transporter functionality in the zebrafish retinal first synapse across different wavelengths.

eLife·2025

Same journal

Inside the new political screening that's stalling NIH grants.

Nature·2026

Same journal

Europe's record heatwave: does the continent have a new climate?

Nature·2026

Same journal

Daily briefing: Humans and great apes giggle in the same rhythms.

Nature·2026

Same journal

The surprising career parallels between footballers and researchers.

Nature·2026

Same journal

I study World Cup penalty shoot-outs: they say a lot about the psychology of performance under pressure.

Nature·2026

Same journal

CRISPR's next act: the companies editing the epigenome to treat disease.

Nature·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 13, 2026

Design and Implementation of a Bespoke Robotic Manipulator for Extra-corporeal Ultrasound

Design and Implementation of a Bespoke Robotic Manipulator for Extra-corporeal Ultrasound

Published on: January 7, 2019

Ultrasound-driven programmable artificial muscles.

Zhan Shi¹, Zhiyuan Zhang¹, Justus Schnermann²

¹Acoustic Robotics Systems Laboratory, Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems, Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland.

|October 30, 2025

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers developed novel artificial muscles using microbubbles and ultrasound. This technology offers programmable deformation, high performance, and scalability for applications in soft robotics and biomedical devices.

More Related Videos

Cardiac Muscle-cell Based Actuator and Self-stabilizing Biorobot - PART 1

Cardiac Muscle-cell Based Actuator and Self-stabilizing Biorobot - PART 1

Published on: July 11, 2017

Bioinspired Soft Robot with Incorporated Microelectrodes

Bioinspired Soft Robot with Incorporated Microelectrodes

Published on: February 28, 2020

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jan 13, 2026

Design and Implementation of a Bespoke Robotic Manipulator for Extra-corporeal Ultrasound

Design and Implementation of a Bespoke Robotic Manipulator for Extra-corporeal Ultrasound

Published on: January 7, 2019

Cardiac Muscle-cell Based Actuator and Self-stabilizing Biorobot - PART 1

Cardiac Muscle-cell Based Actuator and Self-stabilizing Biorobot - PART 1

Published on: July 11, 2017

Bioinspired Soft Robot with Incorporated Microelectrodes

Bioinspired Soft Robot with Incorporated Microelectrodes

Published on: February 28, 2020

Area of Science:

Soft Robotics and Biomimetic Systems
Materials Science and Engineering
Acoustic Actuation Technologies

Background:

Artificial muscles are crucial for mobility but face challenges in programmability, scalability, and responsiveness.
Existing actuation mechanisms are often complex and require demanding material properties, limiting widespread adoption.
The need for advanced artificial muscle technologies persists across robotics, wearables, and biomedical instrumentation.

Purpose of the Study:

To introduce a new design paradigm for artificial muscles based on microbubble technology.
To achieve programmable deformation and high performance in artificial muscles through targeted ultrasound activation.
To explore the potential applications of these novel artificial muscles in various fields.

Main Methods:

Engineered microbubbles with precise dimensions corresponding to distinct resonance frequencies.
Utilized targeted ultrasound activation to stimulate microbubble arrays for selective oscillations.
Developed a theoretical model to support the microbubble-based artificial muscle design and performance.

Main Results:

Achieved programmable deformation with high compactness (~3,000 microbubbles/mm²), low weight (0.047 mg/mm²), and substantial force intensity (~7.6 μN/mm²).
Demonstrated fast response times (sub-100 ms gripping) and excellent scalability from micrometer to centimeter scales.
Showcased applications including flexible organism manipulation, conformable robotic skins, and biomimetic stingray propulsion.

Conclusions:

The microbubble-based artificial muscle design offers a promising solution to current limitations in artificial muscle technology.
The technology provides exceptional compliance and multiple degrees of freedom, enabling versatile applications.
Customizable artificial muscles have the potential for significant impact on soft robotics, wearable technology, haptics, and biomedical instrumentation.